There seems to be little disagreement among St. Landry Parish School Board members that several of the six elementary schools in Opelousas now educating students need to be closed or consolidated.

As discussion continues among the Board members during a series of public forums handling the issue, what remains to be decided is which ones will be scheduled for closure and how many school campuses the district can afford to operate in Opelousas.

Whatever decision will be made concerning the city’s elementary schools is scheduled to become effective for the start of 2019-20.

One idea among the hours of dialogue has remained consistent: None of the board members who have participated in each of the two public discussions has recommended leaving all of the six existing schools open when a new school year begins in August.

For the past several years, five of the six schools whose academic futures are being discussed have consistently recorded annual state test scores of either "D" or "F." Only one school, Park Vista Elementary, which is averaging a "C," has featured test scores above "D" or "F."

The second forum concerning the future of Opelousas elementary schools was held on Wednesday night. The series of public discussions targeting the city’s educational future is part of a comprehensive examination of the district’s six parish-wide school zones, according to Superintendent Patrick Jenkins.

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St. Landry Parish school superintendent Patrick Jenkins speaks to a crowd during Wednesday night's public forum.(Photo: Freddie Herpin/Daily World)

Jenkins said because of the immediate need to solve and elevate the educational situation in Opelousas, the problem of elementary education in the city needs to be examined and decided first. The city’s only junior high also had an "F" average in 2018.

There is also a cost factor involved, Jenkins has pointed out.

Five of the six schools are currently operating below their enrollment capacity. Grolee Elementary, which has room for 813, is educating 405 students currently. Southwest can accommodate 490 and only 257 students are going there.

A few individuals who spoke at Wednesday night’s discussion recommended redesigning the six schools into three elementary campuses with students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

The argument that accompanied those who spoke favorably for pre-K-to-eighth grade campuses said that many students in Opelousas would benefit by remaining at the same school until they reached the ninth grade.

Many families in the city have been known to move frequently during the school year and proponents of the change say that as this demographic continues, having only three schools teaching the same curriculum could help to raise the educational level as students build more lasting relationships with the personnel.

Board member Josh Boudreaux, whose election district is in the Arnaudville area, said most of the Opelousas elementary schools are not large enough to handle the number of students in a pre-K-to-eighth-grade configuration.

A district accounting of students recorded on Oct. 1 indicates 3,739 were attending elementary school in Opelousas. None of the six elementary schools in Opelousas is large enough to handle a thousand or more students, Boudreaux points out.

Jamal Taylor, state president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said during the forum that the concept creates a difficult situation for administrators.

“To do that job, you are asking administrators to have the traits of a surgeon,” Taylor said.

Board member Hazel Sias proposed a different school concept in an arrangement that bands several grade levels.

Sias' proposal includes one school for pre-K and first grade, another for second and third grades, and a third educates fourth- and fifth-graders. The sixth-grade students, under her plan, would go to Opelousas Junior High along with seventh-graders.

Those eighth-graders now attending the junior high could be moved to Opelousas High, Sias said, because OHS has the room for a maximum of 1,400.

Several board members are considering a variation on Sias’ suggestion. That concept includes one campus for pre-kindergarten. The other three would include grade levels for first and second, third and a fourth that includes fifth and sixth.

Boudreaux says the idea of pre-k-through-eighth-grade schools should not be considered.

“Right now, we don’t have the funding or the capacity for the schools to do that,” he added. "We can make (consolidation) happen and this needs to happen now."